Vinicunca — locally known as Rainbow Mountain — is a day trip from Cusco to one of the Andes’ more surreal geological sites. The stripes of red, yellow, green, and blue come from iron, sulfur, chlorite, and copper deposits exposed when the glacier covering the peak retreated in the 2010s.
Peruways runs guided tours from Cusco: 4 a.m. hotel pickup, drive to Phulawasipata, breakfast, the 5 km round-trip hike to the 5,036 m viewpoint, lunch on the return, back in Cusco by late afternoon. Guides explain the geology and the local herding communities you pass through.
Book at Peruways. Acclimatize in Cusco for at least two nights beforehand — the thin air is the hardest part of the day.
